(UPDATE 2) During an interview yesterday at the New Music Seminar in LA, Spotify CEO Daniel EK said that the U.S. launch of the ad supported streaming music service was "looking pretty good". "This is a huge market," Ek continued, "and we want to make sure we do it right"
Aware that the packed house at the Henry Fonda Theater were not all familiar with Spotify, EK was both an instructor and a salesman on stage and during an interview with Billboard's Glenn Peoples. As in his recent MIDEM interview with Ted Cohen, EK responded indirectly to industry concerns about small payouts to rights holders by repositioning Spotify as a tool to sell music, tickets and merchandise. Ek also emphasized potential uses for the data that Spotify is collecting to help artists and marketers better understand fans.
UPDATE: Spotify has also just announced a major overhaul of its music discovery features.
